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By leo.flor, March 7, 2012 21:25

After owning an Energetics foam roller for about 20 minutes, I felt like a blind man who could suddenly see.  How could I not have had one of these all this time?  If you do any kind of sport, you know that flexibility is critical to performance and injury prevention.  The foam roller enhances your ability to  stretch yourself.  Ergo, if you partake in vigorous physical activity regularly, you should have one of these.

I picked mine up at the Fitness Source in Vaughan but SportChek has them as well.  It’s a high-density foam cylinder, 36 inches by 6 inch diameter (like a short, fat, dense pool noodle).  Decided to take it easy and get the softer one just to try it out but I hope to graduate to the more hardcore ones.

My daily routine now involves what I consider to be some kind of super yoga involving this foam roller.  There seems to be no limit to which muscles you can stretch using it.  Don’t forget your breathing!

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Interested in the science that is happening here?  Try this link. It’s essentially a DIY deep tissue massage.

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By leo.flor, March 1, 2012 07:10

Just for comparison’s sake, I decided to do a value comparison on the three coffees in my rotation.  I used the largest available size of each type since pricing is typically such that this gives you the most bang for your buck.  (All dollar amounts are after-tax.)

It seems like the difference in cost between McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s is negligible which surprised me.

Just for perspective, this is what gas costs (today):  $1.20/L = $0.0012/mL.  (Of course, coffee is a renewable resource whereas gas is not but let’s not over-complicate the discussion.)

Other note:  I find the lid of the new Tim Horton’s XL to be superior to the lids of the other Tim Horton’s cup sizes.  Much better at not leaking.

Measurement note:  Tim’s and McD’s amounts were measured by me, Starbucks I took the size as advertised, though it’s measurement came to about 600ml.  I didn’t think to dwell on how precise my measurement was since the difference seemed insignificant and the amount of coffee you get varies determined by your server.  I did measure a few times.

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By leo.flor, February 13, 2012 01:49

After resisting the urges of several friends to read the series, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, the HBO Series: Game of Thrones (which in my opinion is masterfully done) finally convinced me to get into them.  I am now firmly entrenched in the camp of readers anxiously waiting for book 6 (and 7).

Since I’m a math and computer geek, I have a naturally propensity to this type of nerdery.  After finishing Dance With Dragons, and while waiting for Season Two of Game of Thrones, I still craved some form of medieval battle.  I even rewatched the battle scenes in Braveheart.

I used to play a LOT of Warcraft III but I can’t be bothered to re-install it (and I can’t find my disks).  So I went to my iPad to see what I could find.  I was looking for something that would be like the old Sierra game, Lords of the Realm (which I also played more than my share of) and decided to try Lords of War.

To be frank, this hasn’t satisfied my craving for real-time battle action, but nonetheless, I can’t stop myself from playing it.  It’s like being constantly in the building phase of Warcraft or Starcraft but like a real lord, I don’t actually battle.  I just send the troops and get results.  I think most people would easily get bored playing it.  I guess I’m enjoying the social aspects.  You have to ally yourself with others else you will be picked on.

One part of the game that is a little tedious is asking for prayers which turn themselves into vouchers which buy useful things in the game.  The alternative is paying real money in exchange for gold in the game, which I’m even more adverse to.

The game is buggy as hell and there are typos and grammatical errors in all kinds of places in a manner that reminds me of Engrish.com.  Some of the bugs I’ve exploited such as being able to sell an item twice, hehe.

It’s pretty low maintenance, you don’t have to pay too much attention to it and can devote as little or as much time as you like.  Although the leaders of my alliance will sometimes convene a war council which is fun as we scheme and attack our way to the top!

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By leo.flor, February 8, 2012 01:39

A short post to congratulate the New York Football Giants on winning another Superbowl.  I’m lucky that I root for an NFL team that has had success in my lifetime, something I can’t say about any NBA teams that I’ve passionately cheered for.  I’ve liked the Giants since I figured out how football is played while living in the Tri-State Area.  It’s fortunate that not only does my wife enjoy watching football as much as I do, she may be an even bigger Giants fan that I am.  I have never seen the Giants play in the Meadowlands, old or new, whereas she sat in MetLife Stadium through the entire last game that the Giants lost this season (yes that putrid effort against the Redskins).  (I first took her to see the Giants live in Ford Field, Detroit in 2007, that team also won the Superbowl).

I like to consider myself an educated fan and as such I like to root for athletes I perceive to be intelligent and humble (I have no idea what these guys are like in their day-to-day lives but they come across as men of substance).  For example, my favorite basketball player is Steve Nash.  A sweet passing game is a beautiful thing to behold and makes teammates better.  Not only is he a two time NBA MVP, he plays soccer, makes films (including a great ESPN documentary on Canadian Terry Fox) and even skateboards.  Also a very socially conscious individual.

The New York Giants were blessed by the football gods to get Eli Manning.  Early in his career he was perceived to be disinterested  because of his body language and quiet personality, even called out by teammate Tiki Barber.  But it seems that calm demeanor serves him just fine.  His performance in the 4th quarter of the two biggest games he’s played allowed him to succeed where others might have folded under pressure.  He doesn’t comes across as an arrogant professional athlete or diva like other NFL players.  I don’t recall seeing him throw a fit when a receiver drops a pass or runs the wrong route or someone misses a block.  In interviews, he always credits his team before himself.  It’s documented that he goes beyond mandatory meetings and leads his own film sessions with his receivers.

His and hers Eli Manning jerseys.

Thanks Giants and Eli Manning for giving us a season we won’t soon forget.

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By leo.flor, December 19, 2011 07:21

One thing people might not know about me is that I practice yoga regularly (~4 times a week).  In the morning before work and always before exerting myself physically (running, playing sports or snowboarding).

My routine borrows poses learned from two Yoga instructors.  The first was the only real instructor I had, it’s been so long ago since her early morning classes at the Sports Clubs of Canada that I forget her name but she was born to be a yogi.   Her voice was so soothing and I credit her with teaching me how to visualize my breathing (the most important aspect of yoga in my opinion).  The second set of poses I learned from Eoin Finn’s DVD.  He’s a surfer and I conjecture this translates to snowboarding.   After all, conditioning my body to be a better snowboarder was a primary incentive for getting into yoga.

Recently I’ve been experimenting with using an electric blanket.  It’s nothing fancy , picked it up at Shopper’s Drug Mart.  I apply it directly or wrap it around a particularly tight or problematic body part while holding a pose that also targets the area. I call it localized hot yoga.

I credit my general good physical state to my yoga ritual, certainly it’s not due to my diet, sleep or drinking habits.  To me, yoga is the fountain of youth.  It keeps my body feeling young and speeds up recovery time.   Something crucial to focus on as the years continue to add up.  I’m in better shape now than at any other point in my life and it’s because of yoga.